Features
Setting the Stage for Electronic Health Records
As the U.S. government continues to craft its criteria on the adoption of electronic health record (EHR) technologies and processes, healthcare providers are taking note. The healthcare community must follow these guidelines and meet certain deadlines in order to be eligible for Medicare and Medicaid EHR stimulus funds. To provide insight on emerging criteria and offer adoption recommendations, CSC has released a new white paper on the evolving EHR second stage.
“There’s been a great deal of recent discussion about these guidelines and we want to offer an independent point of view for the marketplace,” says Erica Drazen, author of the paper, “Update on Stage 2: Current Direction and Timing of Meaningful Use Requirements.”
In July 2010, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the first set of guidelines (Stage 1) that providers and hospitals need to follow to meet EHR meaningful use criteria. Once the EHR process is complete, the healthcare community and patients will be able to manage and exchange health records electronically instead of via paper. In July 2011, the Health Information Technology Policy Committee, which advises the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT in the Department of Health and Human Services, formally made its recommendations for the Stage 2 guidelines.
Moving to Stage 2
 |
|
|||
|
||||
|
Related Information: Read: Meaningful Use Site Brings Healthcare Community Together Download: Update on Stage 2: Current Direction and Timing of Meaningful Use Requirements |
|||
|
||||
|
||||
These recommendations include making mandatory instead of optional Stage 1 measures, increasing the threshold for other actions and establishing new requirements for certain types of documentation and electronic interactions with patients. The committee also advises for hospitals and providers that qualify for meaningful use in the 2011 payment year that the CMS defer Stage 2 for a year.
Drazen, who is managing partner of CSC’s Global Institute for Emerging Healthcare Practices, recommends in the paper that the community focus on aspects such as meeting all Stage 1 requirements, which will be mandatory in Stage 2, and reevaluating technologies and processes put in place for Stage 1 to ensure they will support future stages. She also recommends piloting challenging areas, such as electronic inpatient physician documentation and patient engagement.
“CSC has the combination of experienced researchers, who review the published literature and other reports on the topic, and hundreds of consultants in the field, who understand the issues with implementation and adoption of IT in healthcare,” says Drazen.
Marking our first anniversary
To help the healthcare community learn, connect and share EHR lessons learned, CSC launched a Meaningful Use Community when the CMS announced Stage 1 guidelines. The first open and interactive online environment for healthcare providers seeking knowledge about the subject, the community offers up-to-date information and access to peers and experts.
Now celebrating its one-year anniversary, the commuity has more than 1,600 members, including professionals and support staff from 480 hospitals and 66 physician practice groups, along with associations, consultants and educators. By the beginning of its second year, the community’s users have connected with other professionals across the country, and viewed more than 40,000 thought leadership documents and 1.7 million EHR discussions.
Featured topics in the community include how to qualify for government incentives, EHR standards core and menu criteria, CMS clarification of emergency department calculations, and Stage 1 and 2 schedules. Documents receiving the most attention feature topics such as the hidden requirements of quality reporting, meaningful use solutions and top 10 meaningful use challenges for hospitals and eligible professionals.
“As the Stage 2 requirements become final, our community continues to be an important forum for healthcare professionals,” says Tim Raimey, CSC Meaningful Use Community manager. “Healthcare professionals can discuss requirements, challenges and best practices, as well as get advice from CSC experts, and hospitals and providers who have already begun work on EHR requirements.”